Wood stepped up his game on the defensive end of the floor.

PORTLAND. Before this season, probably no basketball fan would have dared to mention Christian Wood and Rudy Gobert in the same sentence.

Especially when it comes to playing defense.

But a quick check of the NBA stats, and here it is in black and white. Wood, a perennial high-octane offensive machine, shares 13 years with Gobert – the NBA’s top defenseman in 2018, 19 and 21.^th place in blocks this season with 1.3 per game.

If you hear Wood explain the 180-degree shift, his lack of impact on defense is just a big old misunderstanding.

“People were talking about how bad my defense was early in the season and in Houston,” Wood said. “So I’m trying to make a point to show people that things aren’t as bad as they seem.”

Joining the Dallas Mavericks last summer in a trade with Houston, Wood struggled defensively. But now he’s had three or more blocks in five of his last 11 games, including five against Houston on Jan. 2 and five against the Los Angeles Lakers last Thursday.

Wood took coach Jason Kidd’s defensive principles to heart and found that he could influence play at both ends of the court. But Kidd knew that Wood wouldn’t soak it all up overnight.

“I think it takes time to realize that he’s gifted offensively, but he’s also gifted defensively,” Kidd said. “Being able to block shots right now at high speed has helped us win games, especially at the end.

“In that Lakers game, the ability to come up with block shots and key rebounds (was key).”

Indeed, when the game with the Lakers was tied in the last seconds of overtime, Wood blocked LeBron James right at the basket, sending the game into double overtime.

“I’m just helping my team,” Wood said. “Luka (Doncic) was in serious trouble, so you need to sort of reduce the floor. . . reduce the floor on LeBron rims.

“I just help these guys and the guys trust me to make these games.”

Wood’s coaches and teammates took note of the way he tightened his muscles on defense.

“He’s making a big jump defensively and that’s helped our team a lot,” defenseman Josh Green said. “He jumped into the system and did an amazing job, and he really beat us in a lot of close games, especially at the end, getting big blocks.”

Kidd knew it would likely be a minute or two before Wood internalized his defensive philosophy.

“I think just understanding the patterns and being in the right place, understanding what we are asking him to do, takes time,” Kidd said. “He was not with us last year.

“Last year it took our defense time to figure out what we were asking for and once that happened, we were one of the top 10 defense teams in the league. So when you look at Sea Wood’s time, just understand where he needs to be and also play with these four other guys, understand their talent and what they are going to do with their boyfriend. He was in the right place at the right time for us.”

And being in the right place at the right time paid dividends for the Mavs.

“He’s doing well for us,” forward Reggie Bullock said. “He defends under the rim, blocks shots and also blocks a few late game shots for the team and it’s good to have that kind of defense under the rim.”

Wood did not play in Saturday’s game against Portland with a sprained right ankle. But the fact that he’s even mentioned in the same sentence as Gobert when it comes to blocks per game speaks volumes about how he’s improved his defensive game.

“It’s about being open to it,” Greene said. “After all, he helps us a lot and prepares everyone for work.”

Twitter: @DwainPrice